COMMENTARY:One lord of the rings
___By Terry Cosby
___I went to see the "Lord of the Rings" movie over the holidays. I thoroughly enjoyed it, yet most of my life doesn't relate to the kinds of rings Tolkien wrote about.
___He used myth to tell huge truths beyond what ordinary stories could tell. The rings in my life don't really relate to power and evil and such, at least not on such a grand scale.
___The rings in my life resemble more of those in a circus. "My Life as a Three-Ring Circus." That could be my autobiography. Yet it wouldn't be much of a show and thus wouldn't draw a very big crowd.
___If my life were a three-ring circus with spotlights dancing about and highlighting the featured acts and then one of the rings, the biggest one, in fact, would be the "routine\busy" ring. In it, you'd see a guy reading, calling on the phone, writing a little, visiting folks and riding in the car a bit. You'd see a guy who stayed pretty busy doing routine stuff and wondering if it really made any difference to heaven, hell or those in between.
___On the side of the big ring would be two almost equal-sized rings. They might have a little magic to them in that one day one would be larger and the next day the other would be larger. On some days, all you could see is one, but the next day or the next week, all you could see is the other. Most days, they would be about the same size but not located on either side of the big ring. The two smaller rings would touch each other. In fact, on some days, they would seem to overlap.
___The second ring would be named "Grief\Sorrow." It would rarely be empty. In fact, it was quite full this past year. At times, one grief would fill the whole ring, like at the death of my nephew. At other times, several sorrows would work the ring, like at the movement from near to far of many friends.
___Sometimes a sorrow would share the other ring—the ring called "Joy\Laughter." With Clay's graduation and move to College Station came joy at his progress and sorrow at his absence. Most days, I felt like a ring master running back and forth between the rings checking on joys, sorrows, bills, grieves, hopes, folks, sermons, meetings, sickness, wellness, learning, laughing, death and living. As Judy Collins sang, "Where are the clowns, there ought to be clowns, (and looking in the mirror) don't bother, they're here."
___I don't really know if there is too much one can do to increase the size of or place of life's spotlight on one ring rather than another. Certainly, we would never purposely see the "Grief\Sorrow" ring.
___I do, however, believe there is something we can do about the meaning and purpose that is derived from our time in the rings. How? This was well summed up in a line in the movie. The old wizard, Gandalf, confronts another wizard who has left good for the power of evil. Gandalf tells him, "There is only one Lord of the rings, and he does not share power."
___Mine ring (our rings) may not share much resemblance to the rings of Tolkien's fantasy, but the three-ring circus of which I am steward also has only one Lord. To best live, move and have my being in these rings, to grasp their joy, their meaning and their hope, I best acknowledge and serve the true Lord of the rings. Anything less, and I'm just clowning around.

___Terry Cosby is pastor of First Baptist Church in Hereford




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